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School bells ring summer’s end for kids at military schools

Tech. Sgt. Twan Jennings tries to get her son, Kamarre, 7, to smile on the first day of school Monday, Aug. 29, 2016, at Ramstein Elementary School, Germany.

School bells ring summer’s end for kids at military schools

by: Story and photo by Jennifer H. Svan | .

Stars and Stripes | .

published: August 30, 2016

Despite what the calendar may say, summer came to an unofficial end Monday morning for thousands of kids enrolled in the military’s schools in Europe and the Pacific. For many, it was the first day back to school in more than 10 weeks.

In Germany, a withering, late-summer heat wave broke just in time: After three days of temperatures in the 90s, cooler weather prevailed overnight, giving students and their families a near-perfect morning to embark on the new school year.

Not so for students in Japan, where for many it was a wet first day as Typhoon Lionrock — avoiding Tokyo en route to a closer brush with Misawa Air Base — barreled closer to the mainland.

At Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, first-grader Isabella Coe, 6, huddled under an umbrella with her father, Chief Master Sgt. Alfred Coe, after finishing up her first day at Joan K. Mendel Elementary School.